


Each Way

by Aogiri_Tree_Tatara



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5353805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aogiri_Tree_Tatara/pseuds/Aogiri_Tree_Tatara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amon has trouble with relationships until he meets Kaneki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Each Way

Amon wasn’t a suave kind of guy, if anything, he was as far from that as Pluto was from the sun which certainly said a lot about his character, or specifically, his interpersonal skills. Work was easier: type reports, sort files, listen to your boss and you’re done for the day. Socializing though? Hah, a child could set a much better example than he ever could. He constantly missed social cues, hardly paid attention to anyone around him, barely caught on to hints or gestures. The many who’ve attempted to court him never could get passed his dense nature and all ultimately gave up (and the only reason he knew this was because he was told explicitly by an ex-courter that they weren’t the first to try.)

 

It made Amon frustrated to know this because although he hadn’t care to search for another relationship in the past it was recently that it dawned on him that, perhaps, it wasn’t such a bad idea. He was coming to that age where he should think about settling down, having kids, a wife-the ideal any man wants. Even so Amon was stubborn, so, so stubborn.

 

Instead of having marriage meetings he chose instead to go out on his own to find someone because all the applicable women (or men) could come up to him with an exemplary profile anyone else wouldn’t be able to turn down, he wanted somebody that he felt was worth being with. Plus, he never did get good at this dating thing so in some ways it was bound to be a new experience. Yet date after date he found his hope dwindling. Not that he didn’t find any of them dazzling or interesting or extravagant, no, rather, they did not enjoy Amon.

 

‘You’re boring,’ he remembered one commented. ‘You’re too kind to be with someone like me,’ said another. ‘You’re very handsome but, that’s about it.’ ‘Is work all you talk about?’ ‘I’m not sure our lifestyles could mix well.’

 

The string of dates ended abruptly when he decided he couldn’t handle another insult to his person and it was taking its toll in the form of shameless tears spilling in the presence of the patrons at the pub he visited every so often. Anteiku was its name and it was a place one could only find if they knew someone who already knew of it-quite the secrecy. He wondered at first why it was that way and it was rumored because there was imported alcohol, illegal of course. Normally a man of the law Amon thought he could keep this one place from the ears of his coworkers.

 

There weren’t too many who paid him any attention, after all there were plenty of those like him there who had troubles of their own, some much more grave than Amon’s. Yet, there was one person who listened intently to his troubles: one of three bartenders, Kaneki.

 

Quiet, reserved, he hardly spoke a word to anyone outside the staff and when he did it was to inform the few who remained at the front bar that closing time was near. He didn’t seem to do much either, as Amon almost always saw him polishing glassware or utensils, sometimes plates, even. On the rare occasion he mixed drinks for some of the customers and it was during a time when Amon was in a particularly sad mood that Kaneki demonstrated how it is to make a simple martini.

 

Amon hadn’t asked, nor did he care to watch, yet Kaneki did so regardless. It was clear by the way his hands shook and how he messily poured the alcohol into a metal shaker that he was by no means a professional. Somehow, though, Amon had been mesmerized by the way he moved his hands so fluidly, so calmly.

 

The drink itself was not the best Amon had drank but there was something about it that left him craving more; it instantly lightened his mood that night, and for the first time in weeks Amon was able to, somehow, carry a light conversation with Kaneki. There wasn’t at all much to say but it didn’t drag, didn’t rush-it was perfect. Once over Amon hardly could believe he talked to Kaneki at all, but it wasn’t bad it was...pleasant.

 

After that night, Amon became all too aware of Kaneki’s presence.

  
OoOoO

 

 

Weeks after their initial conversation Amon found himself in something of a routine with Kaneki. He wouldn’t come in early, no, that was the busiest time for the bar, instead, he waited until it was one hour before closing time. Most regulars were long gone by then (a few drunks littered the half empty booths and tall stools up front) which gave way for uninterrupted talks about whatever it is they wanted.

 

“Amon-san, what is it you do?” He asked Amon as he wiped the counter clean.

 

“I’m something of a police investigator, but that’s on rare occasions since they prefer I handle paperwork and new interns,” he responded, sipping a martini he ordered a few minutes ago. The cool liquid seeped into his mouth, a refreshing taste to his uncultured tongue. “Hah!” He sighed, satisfied, as he placed the empty glass in front of his folded arm. “You really do make the best martinis.”

 

Kaneki shook his head, “You give me too much credit; I’m still learning so it won’t be the best one you have.” He grabbed Amon’s empty glass, proceeding to clean it with a lightly damped rag.

 

“Well, yours are the only ones that I like,” Amon commented.

 

“Please, anyways, a police investigator,” Kaneki hummed, changing the subject, “I hope our humble bar won’t be on your list.”

 

“I thought about it, of course, but there’s no proof or evidence that anything shady is going on here so I have no reason to get a search warrant or bring in any backup. Besides, imported alcohol isn’t that important where you need an entire squad to take your business down.”

 

Kaneki returned the glass up top where the rest hung neatly in horizontal rows, sliding it carefully next to the others. “Ooh, Amon-san, harboring such criminals,why, if you were to be caught you’d be in jail for being an accomplice.” His voice carries a playful, sarcastic tone. Amon grinned widely, ridiculously wide he was sure, and covered his face with his hand to hide the giggles escaping him. He couldn’t remember the last time he laughed like this.

 

The bartender glanced at Amon and couldn’t help but smile as well.

 

“You’re right,” Amon murmured, “but even then I wouldn’t mind. I am, technically, breaking the law so I’d have to own up to the punishment that follows.” He removed his hand from his face and rested it on the countertop. He looked up at Kaneki, who now sat on his own stool behind the counter. What a familiar feeling, Amon thought. Maybe it was because this was how he sat with most of his previous dates.

 

“That’s very noble, Amon-san. I don’t think I’d be able to do something like that-too much to lose, too many people at risk.” He sighed and propped his head up on his right hand, his elbow resting on the counter.

 

“No, well, I mean, that’s understandable because you have people you don’t want to, uh, exploit, and those you want to protect. It’s in human nature to protect those you love, isn’t it?” Amon has trouble trying to form words at the moment because Kaneki was now staring right at him and he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate.

 

“Yeah, you’re right about that. It’s pretty hard to though isn’t it. You ignore your moral sense to protect people you hardly know and yet you try everyday to uphold the law, to make sure no one gets off the hook but-” He waved his hand around, gesturing to the now empty pub. “-you’re allowing this place to keep standing. Doesn’t it bother you in the slightest? Why should our bar be kept open, while another going about the same business is shut down instantly?”

 

The conversation took a turn Amon had not seen coming. Usually they’d be talking about one another’s interests or asking simple questions, but nothing about morality and Amon’s dealings as an officer, yet he wasn’t downcast about the way Kaneki questioned him. He was right; what made Anteiku so special that he wouldn’t inform others of its existence and have it shut down?

 

“I don’t think…what you’re doing here is anything that would cause harm to anyone. Those other bars that do exist like this one were covers for drug dealings, human trafficking, kidnappings-disgusting, inhumane crimes that can’t go ignored. Your shop has none of the signs these other places have had. I guess, like I said earlier, I can’t charge someone who has done no real crime,” Amon explained as best he could to Kaneki who was leaning in closer than before and stared at his face intently. He was unable to make or keep any eye contact with him.

 

“You’re full of surprises, Amon-san.” And that was the end of the conversation.

 

OoOoO

 

A few more weeks went by, Amon had continued visiting the bar where he drank the delicious martinis Kaneki made him and had pleasant talks of whatever topics came up. Today was no different.

 

“Kaneki-kun, may I ask, how long have you been working here?” Amon asked out of the blue while Kaneki finished cleaning the slew of glasses around him.

 

“Hm. Maybe a few months now?”

 

“Was there any reason you wanted to become a bartender?”

 

Kaneki paused a moment.

 

“No specific reason. The pay is good and one of my friends helped me get the job.”

 

“Do you like working here?”

 

“Haha, it has its perks if anything. I mean, if it weren’t for this job I would have never met you, Amon-san.” Kaneki’s voice became a hushed murmur but Amon heard it all too clearly. He choked on his martini and threw a coughing fit.

 

Don’t read too much into it.

 

His face a brimming red, Amon struggled to calm the coughs as he felt the stares drilling into his back (that and Kaneki was looking at him, he was sure.) How embarrassing…

 

“Are you okay, Amon-san??”  A worried voice. “Here, drink this water.” He was handed a small water bottle. In a hurry like his life depended on it he chugged the entire thing down his throat, and he soon stopped coughing. Still, though the coughing subsided he was a tad too flustered to acknowledge what just happened and keeps his eyes fixated on the polished wooden counter.

 

“I’m glad it was the drink, if it were food I’m not sure what I could have done to help you,” Kaneki said, relieved.

 

“I’m sorry, that was kind of immature wasn’t it? I was just a bit caught off guard is all,” he huffed. He smoothed out the wrinkles on the sleeves of his collared shirt and fixed his tie. A nervous habit.

 

“It wasn’t immature, so much as it was...cute.”

 

Amon’s jaw hit the floor so quickly he could swear it was a new record. Cute? Him? No, he was everything that wasn’t cute. He was large, muscled, six feet tall, wide, scruffy-he wasn’t near anything what that word defined.

 

“I’m not,” Amon scoffed, trying to seem as if it were a ridiculous accusation but he could only hide so much (his cheeks burned.) Kaneki chuckled.

 

“You don’t know your own charms, Amon-san.”

 

OoOoO

 

Three months passed and their relationship had not progressed in the slightest. Amon was still a regular patron, Kaneki was still the regular bartender he went to-nothing had changed. They still talked about anything and everything. Wait, no, one thing did change; during those three months Amon came to the conclusion that he held feelings for Kaneki. Romantic feelings. When he did he was a bit perturbed because he thought he’d have to change the way he acted, or lest he make it obvious and out himself. However it never came to that; he was fairly confident Kaneki, however perceptive he was, wouldn’t be able to detect such a thing. If there was one thing he learned it was that Kaneki did not care all that much for relationships (it stung Amon to find that out.)

 

So, maybe he couldn’t be romantically involved with Kaneki, which was fine, but he couldn’t help the disappointment that followed. He had an abundance of problems similar to this in the past but then he could shrug it off because he was told upfront-none of that courtship nonsense-Kaneki, though...had given him attention, talked to him, got to know him, and vice versa. Slowly, steadily, Amon began know all these things about Kaneki Ken. It ranged from knowing his favorite color to the classes he took for University, how he wanted to major in English Literature, to teach it at a different University. Or those minute details he noticed about him. The way his lips curled into a smile when he found something Amon did amusing, his hands fiddling with the rings decorated on both index fingers when a particularly heavy subject came up-things no one pays any mind to.

 

Each meeting Amon tried to memorize anything he was able to because there was a lingering fear that perhaps, one day, he’d never see Kaneki again. A silly thought, but could happen at any given moment for that was life, which was the exact reason he wanted to convey his feelings to Kaneki before that fear came true.

 

He wasn’t at all sure how to go about it though, leading him to search through dozens of articles online; ‘Top 10 Ways to show him you care!’ Was a popular headline amongst the ones he chose to read, and he had to admit some of the suggestions were plain impossible for him to perform. ‘Have an air of confidence!’ One read. ‘Don’t be afraid to make eye contact, men love that! And be sensual in your confession; make it clear that you’re serious about him by…’ blah, blah, blah. The point was taken. It was not, in the least, bad advice, just difficult for him to execute.

 

How would he even approach the topic?

 

“Ah yes Kaneki by the way I’ve liked you for awhile now and I just needed to get it off my chest you don’t have to reciprocate the feelings.”

 

Well, not bad, gets the idea across. Yeah, why not. What has he got to lose?

 

OoOoO

 

A lot more to lose than he realized, Amon panicked  as he sat in his usual seat at the bar-up front and right next to Kaneki. Today was a one of the rare days Kaneki took his break when Amon arrived, so he sat next to him instead of behind the counter. The bubbling nervousness in the pit of his stomach was all his mind could process at the moment. He tried keeping a cool exterior as best to his ability, was he? He had one hand wrapped around the glass on the table while the other stay stiffly on his lap. Certainly not the most natural posture, he admitted, though it could probably be worse.

 

“Amon? Are you okay?” Kaneki asked.

 

He felt his back and shoulders straighten and in stagnant motions he turned awkwardly towards Kaneki.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

 

It sounded so forced.

 

“You’re a pretty bad liar, you know that? What’s bugging you?”

 

Why him, why now, why today? Couldn’t this all be happening tomorrow, or never?

 

“Ah, I think I came down with a cold,” he feigned a cough. He hoped it would shake him off-Kaneki knew better, though, expressing it through his unfazed gaze. “Er, well…” He turned his head in a different direction abruptly. “...there’s someone I like, you can say.” His cheeks burned a deep red as he kept his vision strayed from Kaneki’s. The hand on his lap strayed to his tie as his other abandoned the cup on the counter-top for the collar of his shirt. His eyes glued to the legs of the stool beside him he refused to look at Kaneki as he proceeded to explain. “This person is someone I’ve known for a while, someone whose been ah, talking to me on a weekly to daily basis. Every other day?” Amon was too nervous to go on.

 

“Who are they?” Kaneki asked softly.

 

Amon gulped.

 

“Well, you know, someone I’m affiliated with. Kind of. I’m not sure what they think of me, so they’re mysterious?”

 

“I see, and are they one of your coworkers?”

 

“Not...exactly. I see them at this place I visit often, t-to relax after work.”

 

“Ooh really? What kind of ‘place’?”

 

“A bar of sorts.”

 

“Mhm, is that so?”

 

Amon nodded, still not facing Kaneki.

 

“What do they look like, if I may ask?”

 

“I can’t-I don’t have the right vocabulary to describe them in a way that would do them justice.”

 

“You’re so sweet and it’s been driving me crazy  these past few months,” Kaneki murmured. Without warning he leaned heavily against Amon’s side, resting his head on the base of Amon’s deltoid, only causing Amon to stiffen even more. “This person must be lucky to know you.”

 

Oh good, he still didn’t know he was talking about Kaneki.

 

“No, it’s the opposite if anything. They’ve really become an important part of my life and have just, haha, I don’t know...I like them very much,” he tittered. Kaneki was light, yet very warm. And he was almost tempted to lean his head onto his but he didn’t want to push anything, especially his luck.

 

There was a pause.

 

“Amon-san, I’ve known since the beginning.”

 

“W-what?!” He had no way of containing the spluttered response. He whipped his body around, and was finally facing Kaneki. A smug grin spread across his face, Amon staring wide eyed. He leaned back in his seat a bit then forward, resting an elbow on the surface of the counter and propped his head up on his hand. He tilted his head to the side, as if to ask ‘why are you so surprised?’

 

“What’s wrong? I didn’t know that I was the person until now.”

 

“Wait, you mean-”

“Hmm, I’m sure I’ve said this before but you don’t see the appeal of your charm.”

 

“I don’t-”

 

“-yes you do. You captured my heart shortly after you started becoming a regular here, and do you want to know why?”

 

“I…”

 

“...ah, I guess I can leave that part up to your imagination, just don’t keep me waiting when I ask for you answer, Amon-san~”

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i kinda liked the hinting that kaneki works in a shady business bc he does but i cant exactly elaborate on that bc i have no intention of making this longer than it is so ye ah lmao HOPE U ENJOYED IT this was actually written for someone on tumblr bc they shared some rlly cute amoneki sketches with me and i felt bad not returning the favor
> 
> tho it was supposed to be a lot more different than how it came out, like a different setting any everything, obviously since i didnt like it enough i just rewrote it entirely (and im p content with this one) so yeah


End file.
